Chapter 19
Welcome to week 19 of 2023.
This weekend, I read an interesting article about the heart.
One question posed to Professor Sian Harding of the Faculty of Medicine, National Heart & Lung Institute was as follows:
Can the heart generate emotions?
“This happens, for example, when we perceive danger and our pulse accelerates. In the heart, there is a kind of mini-brain, a nerve node that informs our brain that we are afraid. This, in turn, enables our brain to react to the danger and, for example, trigger a flight response. In laboratory experiments, people were played recordings of a very rapidly beating heart. When they were told they were listening to their own heart, they became fearful or even panicked.”
The verse in Ezekiel 36:26 takes on a whole new meaning:
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
God promises to give His people a new heart and put a new spirit within them. This verse speaks of a spiritual transformation that God initiates within individuals. The heart, often now explained as a “mini-brain” or culturally understood as the center of emotions, desires, and decision-making, is depicted metaphorically as being made of stone, symbolizing a hardened and unresponsive state. The promise involves a transformation, removing the hardness, coldness, and resistance toward God and replacing it with a heart of flesh, signifying a soft, responsive, and receptive heart.
Regarding the report, S. Harding writes:
“The heart cells have electrical connections for signal transmission and mechanical connections for force. There are neurons in the heart. However, the heart can actually be removed from the body, the blood vessels can be filled with a saline solution, and the heart continues to beat – spontaneously and without any intervention. In the body, the autonomic nervous system regulates whether the heart should beat faster or slower, an unconscious process.”
The promise in Ezekiel 36:26 speaks of a divine intervention that goes beyond the physical aspects of the heart. It signifies a profound connection between the “heart of man” and the “heart of God.” Just as the physical impulses of the heart synchronize the body, this spiritual transformation aligns us with the divine, making us partakers of His nature and purposes.
Through this promise, God offers a new spiritual body, a transformed being that is in harmony with Him. It implies a profound shift from a self-centered existence to one that is connected with the divine, where our desires, affections, and actions are in sync with His will.
This spiritual transformation enables us to experience a relationship in alignment with God. It is an invitation to transcend our limited human nature and embrace a new identity as children of God, empowered by His Spirit. In essence, the promise in Ezekiel 36:26 calls us to a spiritual metamorphosis, where we are no longer solely focused on ourselves but are transformed to reflect the character and heart of God, living in intimate communion with Him.
Wishing you a blessed connection to the impulse and heart of God this week.
Philemon